Rubber bathing suit



March 3, 1936. J. J. GALLIGAN 2,033,055

RUBBER BATHING SUIT Filed April 27, 1935 I INVENTOR. 44/1/17! d 6/11/64*ATTORNEY.

Patented ar. 3, 1933 RUBBER BATG SUIT James .l. Galligan, Providence, R.L, assignor United States Rubber Products, Inc., New York,

N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application April 2?, 1935, Serial No.18,522

1 Claim.

This invention relates to rubber suits and more particularly to rubberbathing garments having a portion such as a trunk portion adapted to fitclosely around and cover the torso of the wearer.

Various types of bathing suits made primarily of sheet rubber materialhave recently found decided and increasing favor. Various types ofmaterials such as smooth sheet rubber and different kinds of single andmultiple plied crinkled surfaced sheet rubber have been used in theirmanufacture. The styles of bathing garments have invariably included aportion such as a trunk portion adapted to fit closely around and coverthe torso of the wearer, and which may or may not have a skirt over thesame. types of bathing garments where the trunk-portion forms a parteither integral with or merely attached to a top or upper portion,difficulty has been found by virtue of the trunk portion retaining largeamounts of water which may seep in during swimming or which becomesentrapped by virtue of adjusting the suit under water, allowing thewater to come between the trunk and body of the wearer. The materialsurrounding the leg openings of the trunk closely confines the upperportion of the legs of the wearer and hence any water that might getinto the trunk portion will not of itself flow down through the legopenings.

Similarly, the upper portion of certain types of bathing suits havingseparate trunk and upper portions will entrap water if the bottom edgefits too closely against the body of the wearer. The inclusion of largeamounts of water in the bathing suit provides a larger resisting surfacein swimming and hence somewhat lessens the speed and ease of makingprogress through the water. In diving, the body will at times so strikethe surface of the water that water will rush inside the bathing garmentand produce a distinct drag on the suit as the body goes through thewater to completion of the diving operation. When coming out of bathing,it is often necessary to manually stretch the leg openings, with a nottoo aesthetic gesture, in order to allow water that may be entrapped orretained in the trunk portion to be released.

The present invention relates to rubber bathing suits havingperforations therein whereby the above referred disadvantages incidentto the present types of imperforate rubber bathing suits are eliminatedand at the same time a bathing garment is produced which allows the bodyto readily breathe through the suit.

The accompanying drawing illustrates various embodiments of theinvention in which With the various In general, there are two methods ofcarrying 10 out the present invention, The suit may be made up entirelyof the imperforate rubber sheet stock in the usual manner as by cuttingout the various parts in the desired pattern and adhesively joining themby pressure and vulcanizing, or by first vulcanizing the sheet and thenjoining the cutout parts by cement. The suit after assembly, eitherbefore or after curing, may be perforated with a pre-determined designin the various portions as desired. With the trunk portion, it ispreferred to perforate the material in the front and rear parts, whileother portions of the garment may be perforated as desired. Theperforations permit easy ingress'and egress of water so that noresistance to swimming is obtained by virtue of being entrapped in thesuit while under water. Also any water that may be in the trunk portionas the bather comes out of the water will readily fiow through theperforations to provide a. suit that adapts itself closely to the bodyof the wearer.

Another general method of carrying out the present invention is bybuilding up the bathing garment in the usual manner from sheet materialwhich has been perforated in a predetermined design. The material may beperforated in various ways as by mechanically perforating theunvulcanized, or partially or completely vulcanized sheet stock beforeassembling. The rubber sheet material, whether assembled before or afterthe perforations are formed therein, may 40 be ofcalendered rubber orsingle or multiple ply crinkled material, or it may be of the directdeposit of solids of rubber latex, thereby giving greater strength tothe material. In utilizing sheet stock deposited directly from rubberlatex,

the perforations may be formed in the sheet simultaneously with theformation ofthe sheet. The rubber latex may be spread on an engraved orpatterned surface and the excess latex wiped from the protrudingportions of the surface thereby forming perforations in the finishedsheet corresponding to the protruding portions of the depositionsurface. If desired, alternate layers of latex and coagulant may besprayed on to an open work fabric material or a negative of such amaterial whereby the latex will deposit on the impervious portions ofthe backing and the spray will go through the perforations in thebacking forming a perforate sheet.

Referring more particularly to the drawing,

Figure 1 illustrates a bathing suit with perforations in the finishedgarment in a predetermined design. The bathing garment of Figure 1comprises a trunk portion I and a separate top portion II which may beremovably secured to the trunk portion by means of snap 12. The bathingsuit illustrated in this figure is assembled in the ordinary way from animpervious sheet stock either smooth or crinkled or having a design inthe surface and made as desired. After assembly, the suit ismechanically perforated in a predetermined design, the trunk portionbeing shown more in detail in Figures 2 and 3. As shown in Figures 2 and3, the front and rear parts respectively of the trunk have perforationsI3 in the desired outline found most effective for releasing entrappedwater and at the same time retaining desired parts of the trunkimperforate. Perforations on the rear part of the trunk permit waterentrapped in the trunk to be released while swimming under water whilethe perforations in the front portion are effective together with thosein the rear portion for immediately discharging entrapped water whenemerging from swimming.- The upper portion l I may likewise beperforated as shown in Figure 1 at I 4 in any predetermined design,thereby preventing the upper portionfrom retaining water if the lowermargin of the same is drawn tight against the body. The perforations inthe suit also permit free breathing of the body and help to dry theinside of the suit after the bather has come out of the water.

Figure 4 illustrates a second type of garment in which the materialitself is perforated before assembly in the finished garment. Thebathing suit shown in Figure 4 is a one-piece garment I 5 comprising aperforate material as illustrated in detail in Figure 5. The materialsimulates closely an open work fabric material such as lace, and may beproduced by spreading latex on an engraved backing having reliefportions corresponding to the desired perforations, removing excesslatex from the top of the relief portions and drying the deposit. Thepreferred method, however, of making such a rubber sheet material is toalternately spray latex and a chemical coagulant, such as acetic acid,on to an open workfabric material, such as a lace fabric,

impervious portions of the backing and the spray will pass through theperforations in the backing without webbing over the same, therebyforming a material such as shown in Figure 5 having performation of thesheet by the direct deposition of solids of rubber latex provides a muchstronger material and one in which with adequate safety, theperforations may be nearer together and of larger size. In making up afinished bathing garment from sheet material with the all-over perforatedesign such as that shown in Figure 5, it is necessary of course inpredetermined portions to close or cover over the perforations and thismay readily be accomplished on assembling the garment by securing piecesof imperforate material, for example sheet rubber, to the perforaterubber stock at the desired portions. Such imperforate pieces may besecured to the material of the garment in the same manner that thematerial of the garment is secured to itself during manufacture of thegarment, that is by pressure and curing if the material is uncured priorto assembly or by means of rubber cement or the like if the garment isassembled after curing. It has been found, however, that with theperforate material at present utilized in such bathing suits and asillustrated in Figure 5, a piece of similar perforate material may besecured to the garment where it is desired to cover the perforations andsufficient of the perforations are thereby covered over withoutappreciably destroying the surface appearance of that side of thegarment having the re-enforcing material thereon. Of course theperforations of the reenforcing material in such case should notregister with the perforations of the material of the garment proper.

If desired, a sheet having predetermined positioned perforationstherethrough may be formed by spreading rubber latex on the perforateddeposition backing having holes in the deposition surface through whicha gas may be forced and heating the latex on the backing and forcing agas through the perforations or holes in the backing and through thedrying latex to form permanent perforations in the rubber sheet whichafter drying may be detached from the deposition backing. Such a processis described and claimed in a co-pending application of Robert W.Eldridge, No. 676,879, June 21, 1933. If desired a bathing garment maybe made by depositing latex on a backing which has the various parts ofthe finished garment laid out together with the perforations in thedesired portions whereby after producing the sheet on the backing, theportions may be cut to the pattern imparted on the detached sheet andthe perforations formed in the sheet will eliminate the necessity forperforating to the desired design in the finished garment as illustratedin Figure 1.

It is within the scope of this invention to utilize a perforated trunkportion with an imperforate top portion, either integral with orseparate from said top portion. It is also within the scope of thisinvention to utilize a separate perforated trunk under an imperforaterubber bathing suit, or under the usual bathing suit of textile fabric,such trunk being preferably more abbreviated than the one shown inFigures 2 and 3 to form more of a. supporter under the visible portionsof the bathing suit. Such supporter may also be used under a perforatebathing suit as above described to form a separate auxiliary portionthereof.

The term latex or rubber latex" in the description and claim is intendedto designate broadly coagulable dispersions of elastic materialsincluding artificial dispersions of rubber or rubber-like materials aswell as natural latex eeeeeee v :i

which mey be preserved or compounded or otherwise treated as desired andwhich mey be in a normal, diluted concentrated Qi purified condi- ,tionproduced by methods well-known in the wet. In view of the many changesor modificetions that may be made without departing from the principiesunderlying the invention, reference should be made to the appended claimfor en understanding of the scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, whet I 39 claim and desire topreteet by Letters Petent is:

A rubber bathing garment inciuding e trunk portion nevi a crotch and legopenings there in for the introduction of the legs of the wearer, thematerial surrounding said opening adapted to closely confine the upperportion of the Begs of the wearer, said garment being composed of sheetmaterial of the direct deposit of solids of rubber latex, and having emultiplicity of pen iomticns therein, at least in the trunk portion tominimize or permit release of Walter entrapped between the garment andthe wearer.

